Nice, France

I really can't say enough about Nice. Originally our plan was to stay 1 night in Nice, 1 in Cannes, and 1 in Monaco but after further digging decided to make Nice our home base and take day trips to both Cannes and Monaco. This part of our trip was up to M's planning and he did a fantastic job, I couldn't be happier with our hotel or our location in Nice. We stayed at the Beau Rivage and was literally located on the main road along the coast. The sign below was located just on the water...

And this is what the hotel looked like from the street...

It had the old feel of being located in the heart of Nice (although not considered the old Nice) and was within walking distance of every cafe and restaurant you could ask for as well as being a few minutes away from the Christmas markets which housed booths of locals providing everything from Gaufres (waffles with your choice of topping) to Vin Chaud (hot wine) to homemade soaps and trinkets.

Back of the Christmas market area in Nice 

Our gaufre with nutella accompanied with wine and hot chocolate

Rose at a monastery in Nice

Garden at Cimiez Monastery

Orange trees

Coast in Nice 

Simply stunning

Rocks instead of sand covered the beaches

Nice port at night

Beau Rivage hotel

Courtyard view from our room

Clean and modern (+ white fluffy robes!)

As you can see, Beau Rivage was a perfect hotel for us offering convenience (in both French and English) in a great location, simple but clean and necessary accommodations all for a decent price.

The views and atmosphere weren't half bad either ;)

Overall, Nice is a must if you are visiting the South of France. I would even encourage anyone to make it their base and take day trips to small jaunts via train (a couple euros) or bus (1 euro) to Cannes, Monaco, and Saint Tropez.

I would also like to add that although we visited in the off season, Nice and surrounding cities were still incredible and I think the holiday season and festive decorations throughout each town really added to the feeling and made us feel right at home during the holidays (only a few thousand miles away).